building, whose ancient towers, glowing in the last rays of the setting
sun, rose majestically from the midst of groves of dark cypress and
myrtle which surrounded it.
The muleteer stopped. "There, seA+-ores," he said, "stands the castle of
the Conde. Half-a-mile further on lies the town of R----, to which,
seA+-ores," he added, with a sarcastic smile, "you can proceed, should you
not find it convenient to remain at the _Castello_. And now, I presume,
as I have guided you so far right, you will suffer me to resume my own
direction."
"Yes, as there seems no possibility of making any more mistakes on our
way, you are free," replied the gravest of the two. "But stop one moment
yet, _amigo_," and he pointed to a cross-road which, a little further
on, diverged from the _camino real_, "where does that lead to?"
"Amigo!" muttered the man between his teeth, "say _enemigo_ rather!"
"An answer to my question, _villano_," said the young Frenchman,
haughtily--while his hand instinctively groped for the hilt of his
sword.
"To R----," replied the man, as he turned silently and sullenly to
retrace his steps.
"Holla, there!" Ernest called out; "you have forgotten your money;" and
he held out a purse, but the man was gone. "_Va donc, et que le diable
t'emporte, brutal!_" added Ernest de Lucenay; taking good care, however,
this time, that the ebullition of his feelings was not loud enough to
reach the ears of the retreating peasant. "Confound it! I would rather
follow the track of a tiger through the pathless depth of an Indian
jungle alone, than be led by such a savage _cicerone_."
"Never mind the fellow; we have more than enough to think of in our own
affairs," exclaimed his friend, impatiently. "Let us stop here a moment
and consult, before we proceed any further. One thing is evident, at all
events, that we must contrive to disguise ourselves better if we wish to
pass for any thing but Frenchmen. With my knowledge of the English
language, and acquaintance with their manners and habits, trifling as it
is, I am perfectly certain of imposing on the Spaniards, without any
difficulty; but you will as certainly cause a blow up, unless you manage
to alter your whole style and appearance. I daresay you have forgotten
all my instructions already."
"Bah! Alphonse. Let me alone for puzzling the dons; I'll be as complete
a _Goddam_ in five minutes as any stick you ever saw, I warrant you."
"Nothing can appear more perfectly un-English than you do at present.
That _A(C)veillA(C)_ look of yours is the very devil;" and Alphonse shook his
head, despondingly.
"Incredulous animal! just hold Nero for five minutes, and you shall have
ocular demonstration of my powers of acting. _Parbleu!_ you shall see
that I can be solemn and awkward enough to frighten half the _petites
maA(R)tresses_ of Paris into the vapours." And, so saying, De Lucenay
sprang from his saddle, and consigning the bridle into his friend's
hands, ran towards a little brook, which trickled through the grass at a
short distance from the roadside; but not before he had made his friend
promise to abstain from casting any profane glances on his toilet till
it was accomplished.
Wisely resolving to avoid temptation, Alphonse turned away, when, to his
surprise, he perceived the muleteer halting on a rising ground at a
little distance. "By Jove! that insolent dog has been watching us.
Scoundrel, will you move on?" he exclaimed in French, raising his voice
angrily, when, suddenly recollecting himself, he terminated the
unfinished phrase by "_Sigue tu camin! Picaro! Bribon!_" while he shook
his pistol menacingly at the man's head--a threat which did not seem to
intimidate him much, for, though he resumed his journey, his rich
sonorous voice burst triumphantly forth into one of the patriotic songs;
and long after he had disappeared from their eyes, the usual
_ritournelle_, "_Viva_ Fernando! _Muera_ Napoleon!" rang upon the air.
This short interval had more than sufficed for De Lucenay's mysterious
operations. And before his friend was tired of fuming and sacreing
against Spain and Spaniards, Ernest tapped him on the shoulder, and for
once both the young officer's anger and habitual gravity vanished in an
uncontrollable fit of laughter. "By Jupiter! it is incredible," he
gasped forth, as soon as returning breath would allow him to speak:
while Ernest stood silently enjoying his surprise.
"Well, what think you? It will do, will it not? Are you still in fear of
a _fiasco_?"
"Nay! My only fear now is, that the pupil will eclipse the master, and
that the more shining light of your talents will cast mine utterly into
the shade. By heavens! the transformation is inimitable. Your own father
would not know you."
"He would not be the only one in such an unhappy case, then."
Nothing certainly could have been more absurd than the complete
metamorphosis which, in those few moments, De Lucenay had contrived to
make in his appearance. With the aid of a little fresh water from the
rivulet, he had managed to reduce the rich curly locks of his chesnut
hair to an almost Quaker flatness; the shirt collar, which had been
turned down, was now drawn up to his cheek-bones, and with his hat
placed perpendicularly on the crown of his head, one arm crossed under
the tails of his coat, and the other balancing his whip, its handle
resting on his lips, the corners of which were drawn puritanically down,
and his half-closed eyes staring vacantly on the points of his boots, he
stood the living picture of an automaton.
"Well, would you not swear that I was a regular _boule-dog Anglais_?"
exclaimed Earnest, stalking up and down for his friend's inspection,
while he rounded his shoulders, and carried his chin in the air, in
order to increase the resemblance.
"Excellent!--only not so much _laisser aller_; a little more stiff--more
drawn up! That will do--oh, it's perfect!" And again Alphonse burst into
a peal of laughter, in which De Lucenay, notwithstanding his
newly-assumed gravity, could not refrain from joining.
"Let me see,--That coat fits a great deal too well, too close. We must
rip out some of the wadding, just to let it make a few wrinkles; it
ought to hang quite loosely, in order to be in character."
"Gently, _mon cher_!" interposed De Lucenay, as his friend drew out a
pen-knife. "To satisfy you, I have injured the sit of my cravat, I have
hidden the classic contour of my neck, I have destroyed the
AntinA¶us-like effect of my _coiffure_--those curls which were the
despair of all my rivals in conquest--I have consented to look like a
wretch impaled, and thus renounce all the _bonnes fortunes_ that awaited
me during the next four-and-twenty hours; and now you venture to
propose, with the coolest audacity, that I should crown all these
sacrifices by utterly destroying the symmetry of my figure. No, no, _mon
cher_! that is too much; cut yourself up as you please, but spare your
friend."
"_Vive Dieu!_" laughed Alphonse. "It is lucky that you have absorbed
such an unreasonable proportion of vanity that you have left none for
me. To spare the acuteness of your feelings, I will be the victim. Here
goes!" And, so saying, he ripped up the lining of his coat, and
scattered a few handfuls of wadding to the winds. "Will that do?"
"Oh, capitally! I would rather you wore it than me; it has as many
wrinkles as St Marceau's forehead."
"Forward, then, _et vogue la galA"re!_" exclaimed Alphonse, as De
Lucenay vaulted into his saddle, and the cavaliers spurred on their
horses to a rapid canter.
"_Apropos!_" exclaimed De Lucenay, as they approached the castle; "we
ought to lay our plans, and make a proper arrangement beforehand, like
honest, sociable brothers-in-arms; it would never do to stand in each
other's light, and mar our mutual hopes of success by cutting each
others' throats for the sake of the _bella_."
"Oh, as for me, you are welcome to all my interest in the DoA+-a's heart
beforehand; for I never felt less disposed to fall in love than I do at
present."
"You are delightful in theory, _caro mio_; but as your practice might be
somewhat different, suppose we make a little compact, upon fair terms,
viz., that the choice is to depend on the seA+-ora herself; that whoever
she distinguishes, the other is to relinquish his claims at once, and
thenceforth devote all his energies to the assistance of his friend. We
cannot both carry her off, you know; so it is just as well to settle all
these little particulars in good time."
"Oh! as you please. I am quite willing to sign and seal any compact that
will set your mind at rest; though, for my part, I declare off
beforehand."
"Well, then, it is a done thing; give me your hand on it. _Parole
d'honneur!_" said De Lucenay, stretching out his.
"_Parole d'honneur_," returned his friend, with a smile.
"But to return to the elopement"--
"Gad! How you fly on! There will be two words to that part of the story,
I suspect. DoA+-a Inez will probably not be quite so easily charmed as our
dear little _grisettes_; and she must be consulted, I suppose; unless,
indeed, you intend to carry the fort by storm; the current of your love
nay not flow as smoothly as you expect."
"Oh, as for that, leave it to me. Spanish women have too good a taste,
and we Frenchmen are too irresistible to leave me any fears on that
score; besides, she must be devilishly difficult if neither of us suit
her. You are dark, and I fair--you are pensive, and I gay--you poetic,
and I witty. The deuce is in it, if she does not fall in love with
either one or other!
"Add to which, the private reservation, no doubt, that if she has one
atom of discernment, it is a certain _volage_, giddy, young aide-de-camp
that she will select."
"Why, if I had but fair play; but as my tongue will not be allowed to
shine, I must leave the captivation part to my _yeux doux_. Who knows,
though?"----
"Oh, _vanitas vanitatum!_" exclaimed Alphonse, with a laugh.
"I might say the same of a certain rebellious aristocrat, who lays claim
to the euphonious patronymic of La Tour d'Auvergne, with a pedigree that
dates from the Flood, and a string of musty ancestors who might put the
patriarchs to the blush; but I am more generous;" and De Lucenay began
carelessly to hum a few bars of La Carmagnole.
"Softly!" said his more prudent friend. "We are drawing near the
chateau, and you might as well wear a cockade _tricolor_ as let them
hear that."
It was an antique, half-Gothic, half-Saracenic looking edifice, which
they now approached. A range of light arcades, whose delicate columns,
wreathed round with the most graceful foliage, seemed almost too slight
to sustain the massive structure which rose above them, surrounded the
_pian terreno_. Long tiers of pointed windows, mingled with exquisite
fretwork, and one colossal balcony, with a rich crimson awning,
completed the faASec.ade. Beneath the _portico_, numbers of servants and
retainers were lounging about, enjoying the _fresco_. Some, stretched
out at full length on the marble benches that lined the open arcades,
were fast asleep; others, seated _A la Turque_ upon the ground, were
busily engaged in a noisy game of cards. But the largest group of all
had collected round a handsome Moorish-looking Andalusian, who, leaning
against the wall, was lazily rasping the chords of a guitar that was
slung over his shoulder, while he sang one of those charming little
Tiranas, to which he _improvised_ the usual nonsense words as he
proceeded; anon the deep mellow voices of his auditory would mingle
with the "_Ay de mi chaira mia! Luz de mi alma!_" &c. of the
_ritournelle_, and then again the soft deep tones of the Andalusian rang
alone upon the air.
As no one seemed to heed their approach, the two young men stood for a
few moments in silence, listening delightedly to the music, which now
melted into the softer strain of a Seguidilla, now brightened into the
more brilliant measure of a Bolero. Suddenly, in the midst of it, the
singer broke off, and springing on his feet as if inspired, he dashed
his hands across the strings. Like an electric shock, the well-known
chords of the Tragala aroused his hearers--every one crowded round the
singer. The players threw down their cards, the loungers stood
immovable, even the sleepers started into life; and all chorusing in
enthusiastically, a burst of melody arose of which no one unacquainted
with the rich and thrilling harmony peculiar to Spanish voices, can form
an idea.
"Ernest," said La Tour d'Auvergne in a whisper, "we shall never conquer
such a people: Napoleon himself cannot do it."
"Perhaps," replied his friend in the same tone. "They are desperately
national; it will be tough work, at all events. But, come on; as the
song is finished, we have some chance of making ourselves heard now."
And De Lucenay spurred his horse up to the entrance. At their repeated
calls for attendance, two or three servants hastened out of the
vestibule and held their horses as they dismounted. They became
infinitely more attentive, however, on hearing that the strangers were
English officers, the bearers of dispatches to their master; and a dark
Figaro-looking laquey, in whose lively roguish countenance the Frenchmen
would have had no difficulty in recognising a Biscayan, even without the
aid of his national and picturesque costume, offered to usher them into
the presence of the Conde.
Their guide led the way through the long and lofty vestibule, which
opened on a superb marble colonnade that encircled the patio or court,
in the centre of which two antique and richly-sculptured fountains were
casting up their glittering _jets-d'eau_ in the proscribed form of
_fleurs-de-lis_, to be received again in two wide porphyry basins.
Traversing the _patio_, they ascended a fine marble staircase, from the
first flight of which branched off several suites of apartments. Taking
the one to the right, the young men had full leisure to observe the
splendour that surrounded them, as they slowly followed their conductor
from one long line of magnificent rooms into another. Notwithstanding
many modern alterations, the character of the whole building was too
evidently Eastern to admit a doubt as to its Moorish origin. Every where
the most precious marbles, agates, and lapis-lazuli, oriental jasper,
porphyry of every variety, dazzled the eye. In the centre of many of the
rooms there played a small fountain; in others there were four, one in
each angle. Large divans of the richest crimson and violet brocades
lined the walls, while ample curtains of the same served in lieu of
doors. But what particularly struck the friends was the brilliant beauty
of the arabesques that covered the ceilings, and the exquisite
chiselling of the cornices, and the framework of the windows.
"The palace is beautiful, is it not?" said the Biscayan, as he perceived
the admiring glances they cast around them. "It ought to be, for it was
one of the summer dwellings of _il rey Moro_; and those _ereticos
malditos_ cared but little what treasures they lavished on their
pleasures. It came into my master's possession as a descendant of the
Cid, to whom it was given as a guerdon for his services."
"What a numerous progeny that famous hero must have had! He was a
wonderful man!" exclaimed De Lucenay, with extreme gravity.
"_Si, seA+-or--un hombre maravilloso en verdad_," replied the Spaniard,
whom, notwithstanding his natural acuteness, the seriousness of De
Lucenay's manner and countenance had prevented from discovering the
irony of his words. "But now seA+-ores," he continued, as they reached a
golden tissue-draped door, "we are arrived. The next room is the
_comedor_, where the family are at supper."
"Then, perhaps, we had better wait a while. We would not wish to
disturb them."
"Oh, by no means! The Conde would be furious if you were kept waiting an
instant. The English are great favourites of his. Besides, they must
have finished by this time." And raising the curtain, they entered an
immense frescoed hall, which was divided in the centre by a sort of
transparent partition of white marble, some fourteen or fifteen feet in
height, so delicately pierced and chiseled, that it resembled lace-work
much more than stone. A pointed doorway, supported by twisted columns,
as elaborately carved and ornamented as the rest, opened into the upper
part of the hall, which was elevated a step higher. In the centre of
this, a table was superbly laid out with a service of massive gold;
while the fumes of the viands was entirely overpowered by the heavy
perfume of the colossal _bouquets_ of flowers which stood in sculptured
silver and gold vases on the plateau. Around the table were seated about
twenty persons, amongst whom the usual sprinkling of _sacerdotes_ was
not wanting. A stern, but noble-looking man sat at the upper end of the
table, and seemed to do the honours to the rest of the company.
The Conde--for it was he--rose immediately on receiving the message
which the young officers had sent in; while they waited its answer in
the oriel window, being unwilling to break in so unceremoniously upon a
party which seemed so much larger, and more formal, than any they had
been prepared to meet. Their host received them most courteously as they
presented their credentials--namely, a letter from the English general,
Wilson, who commanded the forces stationed at the city of S----, about
sixty miles distant from the chateau. As the Conde ran his glance over
its contents,--in which the general informed him that within three or
four days he would reach R----, when he intended to avail himself of the
Conde's often proffered hospitality, till when he recommended his two
aides-de-camp to his kindness,--the politeness of their welcome changed
to the most friendly cordiality.
"SeA+-ores," he said, "I am most grateful to his excellency for the favour
he has conferred on me, in choosing my house during his stay here. I
feel proud and happy to shelter beneath my roof any of our valued and
brave allies.--But you must have had a hard day's ride of it, I should
think."
"Why, yes, it was a tolerable morning's work," replied De Lucenay, who
felt none of Alphonse's embarrassment.
"Pablo, place seats for their excellencies," said the Conde to one of
the domestics who stood around; while he motioned to the _soi-disant_
Englishmen to enter the supper-room, in which the clatter of tongues and
plates had sensibly diminished, ever since the commencement of the
mysterious conference which had been taking place beyond its precincts.
"You must be greatly in want of some refreshment, for the wretched
posadas on the road cannot have offered you any thing eatable."
"They were not very tempting, certainly; however, we are pretty well
used to them by this time," replied De Lucenay. "But, SeA+-or Conde,
really we are scarcely presentable in such a company," he added, as he
looked down on his dust-covered boots and dress.
"What matter? You must not be so ceremonious with us; you cannot be
expected to come off a journey as if you had just emerged from a lady's
boudoir," answered the Conde with a smile. "Besides, these are only a
few intimate friends who have assembled to celebrate my daughter's
fAȘte-day." And, so saying, he led them up to the table, and presented
them to the circle as Lord Beauclerc and Sir Edward Trevor,
aides-de-camp to General Wilson. "And now," he added, "I must introduce
you to the lady of the castle; my daughter, DoA+-a Inez;" and turning to a
slight elegant-looking girl, who might have been about sixteen or
seventeen, he said--"_Mi queridita_, these gentlemen have brought me the
welcome news that our friend the English general will be here in three
or four days at the latest; the corps will be quartered in the
neighbourhood, but the general and his aides-de-camp will reside with
us. Therefore, as they are likely to remain some time, we must all do
our utmost to render their stay amongst us as agreeable to them as
possible."
"I shall be most happy to contribute to it as far as it is in my slight
power," replied DoA+-a Inez in a low sweet voice, while she raised her
large lustrous eyes to those of Alphonse, which for the last five
minutes had been gazing as if transfixed upon her beautiful countenance.
Starting as if from a dream, he stammered out, "SeA+-orita, I----I----,"
when fortunately De Lucenay came to his assistance, with one of those
little well-turned flattering speeches for which French tact is so
unrivalled; and as the company politely made room for them, they seated
themselves beside her.
"Don Fernando," said the Conde to a haughty, grave-looking man, who sat
next to De Lucenay, while he resumed his place at the head of the table,
"you and Inez, I trust, will take care of our new friends. _Pobrecitos_,
they must be half famished by their day's expedition, and this late
hour."
But the recommendation was superfluous; every one vied with his
neighbour in attending to the two strangers, who, on their part, were
much more intent on contemplating the fair mistress of the mansion, than
on doing honour to the profusion of _friandises_ that were piled before
them.
DoA+-a Inez was indeed beautiful, beyond the usual measure of female
loveliness: imagination could not enhance, nor description give an idea
of the charm that fascinated all those who gazed upon her: features cast
in the most classic mould--a complexion that looked as if no southern
sun had ever smiled on it. But the eyes!--the large, dark, liquid orbs,
whose glance would now seem almost dazzling in its excessive brightness,
and now melted into all the softness of Oriental languor, as the long,
gloomy Circassian lashes drooped over them! As Alphonse looked upon her,
he could have almost fancied himself transported to Mohammed's paradise,
and taken the Spanish maiden for a houri; but that there was a soul in
those magnificent eyes--a nobleness in the white and lofty brow--a
dignity in the calm and pensive calmness, which spoke of higher and
better things.
But if her appearance enchanted him, her manners were not less winning;
unembarrassed and unaffected, her graceful and natural ease in a few
moments contrived to make them feel as much at home as another would
have done in as many hours. Much to the young Frenchmen's regret,
however, they were not long allowed to enjoy their _apartA(C)_ in quiet;
for a thin sallow-looking priest, whom DoA+-a Inez had already designated
to them as the _Padre Confessor_, interrupted them in a few minutes, and
the conversation became general.
"It is a great satisfaction to us all to see you here, seA+-ores," he
said. "First, as it procures us the pleasure of becoming personally
acquainted with our good friends and allies the English; and, secondly,
as a guarantee that we are not likely to have our sight polluted by any
of those sacrilegious demons the French, while you are amongst us."
"_Gracias a Dios!_" energetically rejoined the _cappellan_--a fat, rosy,
good-humoured looking old man, the very antipodes of his grim
_confrA"re_. "The saints preserve me from ever setting eyes on them
again! You must know, seA+-ores, that some six weeks ago I had gone to
collect some small sums due to the convent, and was returning quietly
home with a lay brother, when I had the misfortune to fall in with a
troop of those sons of Belial, whom I thought at least a hundred miles
off. Would you believe it, seA+-ores! without any respect for my religious
habit, the impious dogs laid violent hands on me; laughed in my face
when I told them I was almoner to the holy community of Sancta Maria de
los Dolores; and vowing that they were sure that my frock was well
lined, actually forced me to strip to the skin, in order to despoil me
of the treasure of the Church! Luckily, however the Holy Virgin had
inspired me to hide it in the mule's saddle-girths, and so, the zechins
escaped their greedy fangs. But I had enough of the fright; it laid me
up for a week. Misericordia! what a set of cut-throat, hideous-looking
ruffians! I thought I should never come alive out of their hands!"